Meals

Meal plans are necessary to keep food costs down.   They help because you are less likely to throw food out if you incorporate the oldest food first.   In business, they call that FIFO.  First in, first out,    

I took some time yesterday to take everything off the glass jar shelf on the pantry,    I took inventory by listing the product and the pull dates.  I found artichokes that are dated June 30.    Foods don't abruptly die on the specific pull date.   We are going to have them for dinner tonight-- a few days last their date.   I see I bought them at Big Lots.  The dollar process is on them, which means I paid  .80.   I plan to add them to the .48 can of Alfredo sauce I bought last week, and add red pepper, peas, and some chicken pieces and serve over spaghetti  I also bought on sale.    That's still a five dollar dinner.  If the sauce doesn't stretch far enough, I will add cream or sour cream.   

Meals ) I cranked these out while waiting for lunch to cook).  

1. Pasta Alfredo . Italian bread 
2. Sweet and sour meatballs.  Brown rice ( grocery outlet ) 
3. Potluck : Greek green bean salad 
4. Pizza -buffalo chicken 
5. Hamburgers, suddenly salad, corn on the cob ( 4th of July) 
6. Breakfast for dinner 
7. Salmon cesear salad 

Notes : I'm making croutons from the peppercorn, parm Italian bread I made a few days ago.    Chicken. Breast are .88 again at Fred Meyers.  I'm hoping there's some left when  I get there. I will de-bone them and cook the bones .  There is always chicken left on the bone when I de-bone.  I'm not as good as the butcher ,m it I get a couple more meals from the bones.    A cup of chicken pieces and a cup of grated cheese bough at RBP is a little more than a dollar.    Add a scratch pizza crust and a little ranch or blue cheese salad dressing and some red pepper sauce and you have buffalo chicken pizza.   You can tone it down if you don't like HOT.   

The tomato sauce in bags are still .50 at the grocery outlet -- for a liter.   I got meatballs for .98.   Add some peppers (.69 ) and 1/2 a can of pineapple chunks and you have sweet and sour meat balls ( over rice ).  Another way less than five dollar Dinner.    

Greek green bean salad is a splurge.     Green beans are 149 at Freddie's today.    Add feta and red pepper and tomato.   ( Pinterest) 

Suddenly salad was .75 with coupons and hamburgers are 249 a pound at Costco. Buns are .68 at Winco,   I bought suddenly salad a month ago when Safeways had it on sale.    The meat was purchased in a monthly Costco stock run?  I purchased the buns this week.    I'm answer to do I shop all those stores every week.    Not usually.    Corn on the cob is on sale every where this week.    There are a lot of,yum,y recipes for toppers out there.   

Breakfast for dinner is always a low cost meal.  

I have frozen salmon in the freezer that was upstairs.   I will make the croutons from old bread.    Parm is a staple around here.   I either buy it grated fresh when the price is right, or I buy it in a block and run it over the micro plane.   Of parm is too expensive, I check Romano or another hard cheese that I get at Costco for 12.00 a huge wedge.    It lasts a really long time.  In other words, I buy whatever hard cheese that is on sale when I need it.    

.  Groceries on the cheap is looking at the "put the meal on the table train" from  a different perspective. 

The emphasis is on purchasing good shelf stable or frozen food  for a RBP in quantity - enough to last you until it goes on sale again or to keep a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you  use  on a weekly basis. 

This means that instead of shopping daily or weekly for just the things you need to cook your meals for the week. You go to two stores and buy :
1) a protein that is a RBP - enough to make that meal for x number of days. (I.e.: if you eat it once a week, buy enough for 4 meals.)
2) produce and dairy you will need to fill in the meals for the week. 
3) a stock item, if you need to and it is on a RBP - enough to fill in to your self imposed stock level. 

You often are paying 1/2 price for your food.   This allows you to put well-balanced meals on the table consistently on a four dollar a day per person budget.   You spend more time on the locomotive ( planning and shopping ) end of the train, and less time in the caboose ( kitchen j) by cooking more efficiently. 

 Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on 4 dollars a day, spending more is not difficult and you still get more nutrition for your buck.